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For System Admins - Custom Data Field-Where Used Report

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ChrisGa1
Level 5

3/29/17

System admins have no way of knowing where/if a custom field is used in a report or personal filter/view. Without this, we are unable to change the name of a field to meet our business changes and understand what the impact will be to already established reports/filters.

4 Comments

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LouiseRe
Level 7

4/5/17

This would be a brilliant feature and would save us a lot of time and prevent confusion and uncertainty about whether we can delete fields or not. At present we have to rename fields as we just don't know for certain if they are needed or not.

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KathyNa
Level 7

4/27/17

See if this does what you need...

First I created a report type of "Parameter". For a custom field to exist it must be on a custom form. Parameter is the same as "custom field" on this report.

1. No Filters.

2. Columns: Parameter - Name, Parameter - Display Type (if you want that), Parameter - Description (if you want that), Parameter - Forms (to list the custom forms that the custom field exists on), GUID (optional - I included it because I needed it for later).

3. Prompts: Parameter - Name (if you want that). I added this so that if I was considering changing only 1 field, I could bring up just that field on the report.

The only thing I don't like and couldn't get around is that the custom forms a field is on are ALL included in that Forms column, so if multiple you have to read that column carefully.

Now as far as reports using that custom field...

Second I created a report type of "Report".

1. No Filters.

2. Columns: Report - Filter ID, Report - Grouping ID, Filters (in text mode), Groupings (in text mode). ID yields the GUID, but I know what the GUIDs are from the Parameter report I created above. Text Mode yields the actual "code", and you can identify your custom field within that column. There is no API object for "prompt", so I couldn't interrogate for that. But to me this is minor. If the prompt fails, it doesn't cause the report to fail.

3. Prompts: Filter - ID, Grouping - ID

This isn't perfect for sure, but should at least get you appropriate detail from which you can glean what you need. Hope this helps!

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AmandaCr
Level 6

7/26/17

How often it is utilized where it has been on a form that has been added? How often is the information updated? etc. I mostly am looking at it from a perspective of thinking of metrics/filters that would help identify which ones are not used on the custom forms they are placed in. Or something of that nature.

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